Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on supporting employment opportunities for people with functional neurological disorders.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population. We know that appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing. We want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. We want people to avoid poverty, and for this to happen we must ensure that disabled people and people with health conditions can work and save for as long as they wish and are able to.

Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key.

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Health and Social Care are committed to supporting disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, including functional neurological disorders (FND), and have a range of support available so individuals can stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.

Measures include joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, as well as support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants. We also support the role employers play in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to be part of the workforce, including through increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme. The information service is available at the following link:

https://www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/support-with-employee-health-and-disability

As part of our Get Britain Working plan, more disabled people and those with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on FND state that symptoms of FND include recurrent dizziness, limb or facial weakness, numbness and tingling, difficulties with memory and concentration. Severity of symptoms also fluctuates and increases during times of stress. It is, therefore, important that employers provide appropriate adjustments for people with neurological conditions, including FND, to better support them in the workplace.

The two Departments will work together to support people with long-term conditions, including FND, back into work.

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